Fork lift trucks



Feb. 9, 1965 G. s. JINKS ETAL 3,168,956

FORK LIFT TRUCKS Filed Dec. 1, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 //1 van forsGREGORY SPENCER w/vxs DA V/D MA/gr/N J/NKS 5y mm mm Feb. 9, 1965 e. s.JINKS ETAL 3,153,956

FORK LIFT TRUCKS Filed Dec. 1, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 i I l/ 2] 2 2 FIG.7

/n venfow GREGORY SPENCER J/NKS 0A V/D MART/N d/NKS By MAW Feb. 9, 1965Filed Dec. 1, 1960 G. S. JINKS ETAL FORK LIFT TRUCKS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5GREGOR Y 6PE/VCER J/NKS DA VID MART/N d/NKS Affomeys Feb. 9, 1965 G. s.JINKS ETAL 3,

FORK LIFT TRUCKS Filed Dec. 1, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 //7 vemors GREGORYSPENCER .//NKS DAV/D MART/N d/A/KS Af/orney5 Feb. 9, 1965 G. s. JlNKSETAL 3,168,956

FORK LIFT TRUCKS Filed Dec. 1, 1960 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 FIG. I4

FIG. /5

INVENTORJ 6/9560)?! SPENCER JIM/(6 DAi' /p MART/N J/NKS BY 7- e a zATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,168,956 FORK LIFT TRUJKS Gregory.linE-zs, h ieriden, Ash'lield Road, and lia /id M. links, 32 liriariiallr, Hadley, both of Leicester, England Filed Dec. '1, 1969, Ser. No.73,1ll3 (Ilaims priority, application Great Britain, Dee. l, 1959,

dilfis'l/ 8 Claims. ll. 214-75) This invention is for improvements in orrelating to load handling fork lift and like trucks and has for one ofits objects to provide a truck which is particularly suited for dealingwith loading and unloading operations on one or both sides of a narrowg-angway. v

In accordance with the invention there is provided a load handling truckhaving front and rear platforms braced together at low level acrosstheir width and having a travelling mast mounted to move transversely ofthe truck between said platforms and load handling means mounted forraising and lowering movement on the mast, with the parts so arrangedand organised that the load handling means may be caused to projectlaterally from either side of the truck at will between the front andrear platforms for picking up or depositing a load. Thus the truck canoperate in gangways having a width little greater than that of the truckfor loading or unloading at either side and the handling of the goods incompactly arranged storage lines is greatly facilitated and expedited.

The load handling means may be constituted by lifting forks or anequivalent load engaging device and it is so arranged that it can beprojected laterally from the truck at either side to an extentapproaching the width of the truck and withdrawn to Within the compassof such width so that loads of corresponding width may be handled whichwhen loaded on to the truck may be lowered to rest on the front and rearplatforms. The load handling means and mast are mounted on a carriagefor lateral traversing movement and a drivers control cabin mayconveniently also be supported by the carriage so as to partake of thelateral traversing movement so that from whichever side of the truck aload is handled space is left clear on the front and rear platforms toreceive a long load.

It is advantageous to provide the truck with wheel mountings permittingheightwise adjustment of the truck frame to bring the bottom of thetruck closer to or further from the ground between the wheels supportingthe ends of the truck. By this provision the truck frame can be adjustedto suit different ground conditions and to enable the load handlingmeans to operate-from as low a level as ground conditions permit.

It is advantageous for stability purposes to mount the truck on fourwheels arranged in pairs towards the front and rear of the truck and soto relate the wheel mountings that in each pair an upward movement ofone relatively to the truck frame causes a corresponding downwardmovement of the other relatively to the frame, with a similarinterconnecting relation provided between the two wheels on each side.Thereby the truck suspension is self adjusting to compensate forirregularities in ground surface and in addition good stability when oilloading at either side is secured. It is further advantageous to arrangethat all four whels can be steered and to have the wheels in each of thefront and rear pairs coupled for. simultaneous steering with separatecontrols p 'ice of the truck. The mast may be mounted to turn with theload handling means or be fixed with the load handling means pivoted toit. In an alternative construction a modified form of load handlingmeans is arranged to be mounted to turn about a horizontal axis forpresentation at either side of the truck.

Other provisions of the invention relate to a longitudin-ally movabledeck on one of the end platforms and to certain constructional featureswhereby control connections are accommodated within the depth of the lowlevel bracing means between the platforms.

Examples of preferred constructional forms of the invention areillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view of a side loading truck,

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation view of the same truck,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged broken perspective and partly phantom view ofcertain details of the truck showing particularly the mounting of themast or gallows,

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged broken perspective and partly phantom view ofcertain parts of the truck seen from the opposite view point of that ofFIGURE 3 and illustrating the steering arrangements,

FIGURE 5 is a detail view in end elevation showing the wheel mountingsat one end of the truck,

FIGURE 6 is a view in plan of the parts shown in FIG- URE 5,

FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 are respectively, a side elevation, end elevation andplan view of a truck body (omitting the load handling mechanism)illustrating a modification,

FIGURE 10 is a View corresponding to FIGURE 9 showing the parts in adifferent setting,

FIGURES 11, 12 and 13 are respectively detail views in front and sideelevation and plan of a modified form of I the. load handling means.

between the tables 10 and 11 and just above the plates 12 there ismounted for movement across the vehicle a carriage 13'carrying a mast orgallows indicated at 14 on which is mounted load handling meansconstituted by spaced lifting forks 15. I The carriage 13 has anupstanding wall 16 from which there extends a buttress 17 on which abottom frame portion 18 ofthe mast 14 is mounted to swing about avertical pivot. The upstanding wall 16 also has fixed to it a driverscabin 1Q the bottom of which isspaced slightly above the tableli so thatas the carriage 13 is moved laterally of the truck both the mast 14supporting the lifting forks 15 and the drivers cabin 19* are moved withit. The carriage 13 also supports casings 20 on each side of thebuttress 17 which house the operating means for traversing the carriage.The truck is supported on ground engagingiwheels 21 these being four innumber and located two underneath each of the tables 19 and iiboundaries of the truck.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 3 the inner ends of the platforms ill and11 carry upstanding plates 22 and 23 which are spaced apart parallel toone another and at right angles to the length of the truck, and throughwhich the platforms are braced by plates 12. The plates 22 and 23support upper and lower guide bars '24 between which engage rollers 25rotatably mounted on the outer faces of wall 16 and a short wall-26 atthe opposite end or the just within the lateral carriage 13. The latteris thus mounted to run transversely of the truck and guided accuratelyfor its transverse movement by guideways 24. To elfect traversing of thecarriage there are provided two hydraulic ram cylinders 27 and 28mounted within the casings 20 aforementioned,

the piston rods 29 of which carry at their upper ends pairs of pulleys30 all mounted to rotate in mountings thereon. The near cylinder 27 hasassociated with it cables or ropes 32 and 33 whereof the rope 32 extendsfrom an anchorage 34 securing it at one end to the upstanding plate 23,through an aperture in such plate, around a pulley 35 on the side wall26 of the carriage, around a pulley 36 mounted on the buttress 17, overone of the pulleys 3i associated with the cylinder 27 and down to ananchorage on a bracket 37 secured to the lower part of the buttress 17.Similarly the rope 33 extends from an anchorage corresponding toanchor-age 34 but on the opposite side plate 22, through a hole in suchplate and an aperture 38 in side wall 16, around pulleys 39 and 40corresponding to pulleys 35 and 36, over the other of the pulleys 30associated with cylinder 27 and down to the anchorage plate 37. Acorresponding arrangement of cables 41 and 42, guide pulleys 43 and onenot seen in the drawings, is associated with the hydraulic cylinder 28,the cables 41 and 42 having anchorages 44 at the opposite sides of thetruck to that ,at which the anchorages 34 are positioned and anchoragesat their other ends in fixed relation to the carriage to which thecables pass downwardly from the pulleys 30 associated with the cylinder28. Thus when the hydraulic cylinder 27 is energised to urge its pistonrod 29 upwardly the cables 32 and 33 are taken up in bights to draw thecarriage 13 to the near end of its runway as seen in FIG. 3 andconversely when the cylinder 28 is energised the ropes 41 and 42 aretaken up to draw the carriage 13 to the opposite side of the truck. Thecylinders 27 and 28 are operated by orthodox control means by which theycan be actuated simultaneously in opposite directions.

The mast or gallows comprises a rigid upstanding bottom frame composedof side channels 45 braced "together by top and bottom cross pieces 46and 47 and having fixed to them at their lower parts triangular crossbrackets 48 to provide a pivotal mounting means. The plates 48 fit aboveand below the buttress member 17 to which they are pivotally attached byaligned pivots indicated at 49 so that the bottom part 45, 46 of themast can be swung through 180 about a vertical axis on the pivots 49thereby permitting the mast to be positioned on either side of thebuttress member 17. The channel members 45 form guideways for inwardlyprojecting rollers FIG. 1 on a heightwise movable upper part of the mastformed by channel section side members 51 which are -braced by crossmembers 52 to form a frame which straddles the bottom part of the mast.The channel side members 51 in turn form guideways for inwardly directedrollers 53 on a further framework composed of side pieces 54 which carrythe rollers 53 and upper and lower cross members 55. The latter projectbeyond the side pieces 54 to carry the back portions of the L-shapedforks 15. Raising and lowering of the forks 15 on the mast is controlledby a hydraulic ram 56 having a piston rod 57 the upper end of which isanchored to a bracket 58 secured to the top cross member 52 on the upperpart of the mast. The bracket 58 also carries two pulleys 59 I overwhich there extend cables or chains 60 each con- :the weight of theupperframe 51,52 and of the forks 15 and their carrier frame causes'themto fall to a lowered position and the arrangement is such that the forkscan be lowered to the level of the plates 12 at the lower part of thetruck body.

The pivotal mounting on the pivots 49 of the lower part of the mastpermits the mast together with the forks to be turned through a range of180 from a position in which the forks 15 are directed laterally of thetruck in one direction to a position in which they are oppositelydirected, that is towards the other side of the truck. The turning ofthe parts about the pivots 49 is elfected by means of a small hydraulicram 62 anchored at 63 to the carriage 13 and having its piston rod 64coupled at 65 to an arm coupled to a chain wheel 66 mounted to turn on aspindle 67. The chain wheel 66 is engaged by an endless chain 68 throughwhich it drives a sprocket 69 fixed to the lower one of the pivotbrackets 48. The ram 62 is double acting so that it may be operated torotate the gear wheel 66 in either direction for the purpose of swingingthe mast and forks 15 from one to the other of their opposite setting,and is preferably so controlled as to permit the turning movement to bearrested for an intermediate setting of the mast and forks for -apurpose later explained.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the load handlingmeans on the truck are so organized that the lifting forks can he raisedand lowered on the mast, and can be set to project laterally towardseither side of the truck, and can be moved by means of the carriage 13to travel across the truck and project therefrom as required. Thus theforks may be used to pick up or deposit a load at either side of thetruck and at any level on the mast ranging from a low level near theground to a high level near the top of the elevated mast. With a load onthe forks 15 and the forks raised to above the level of the platforms1t} and 11 the carriage can be travelled across the truck to bring apicked up load on to the truck and within the width thereof or project aload outwardly for delivery as the case may be. A load longer than thewidth of the forks can be picked upfrom either side and depositedlengthwise to rest on the platforms 16 and 11, and subsequently liftedfrom the platforms and deposited laterally of the truck. It is to benoted that by having the drivers cabin 19 mounted on the carriage 13 topartake of the lateral travelling movement thereof space is provided onthe platform 11 to accommodate a load to be deposited partly thereon bythe forks 15 irrespective of which side of the truck the loadingoperation is performed.

To enable the load handling facilities afforded by the construction sofar described to be utilised more fully the truck has certainadvantageous arrangements of its suspension, steering, level adjustmentand propulsion which will now be described. These arrangements providefor good stability, wide range of manoeuvrability and centralisedcontrol of the propulsion and steering from the drivers cabin withoutinterference with the central space required for traversing the mast, aswell as adjustability of the level of the truck body to suit varyingground conditions.

The propulsion of the truck is effected in the example shown by drivingmotors 70 associated one with each driving wheel and supported on thestub axle bracket of the wheels. The wheels 21 at only one or at bothends of the truck may be thus fitted with driving motors which ,may beelectric or hydraulic or other type of motors,

and actuated by common control means in the drivers cabin. All four ofthe wheels 21 are arranged as st e erin'g wheels, and are coupled inpairs at the two ends for steering, those at one end of the truck beingarrangedto be steered together by means of one controland those at theother end being steered together by a separate contr0l. Thus the drivercan steer the truck conventionally by means of the leading wheels onlyin either direction of travel, or turn all wheels in the samedirectionfor crabwise steering, or turn the wheels at one end oppositely to 55the wheels at the other end for short radius turning movement of thetruck.

The suspension of the truck is such that the two wheels of each end pairare so interconnected that a rising move ment of one in relation to thetruck body caused a falling movement of the other and in addition eachtwo wheels on the same side of the truck are similarly interconnected.This arrwgement ensures particularly good stability when dealing withheavy oil loads and also avoids excessive localised stresses on parts ofthe truck body arising from load concentration or passage of the truckover uneven ground. In particular stresses tending to deform theguideways for the carriage 13 out of parallelism are avoided.

FIGS. and 6 show the wheel suspension, the same arrangement beingapplied at each end of the truck. The plates 22 and 23 have securedcentrally to them bearing sleeves 71 in which tubular pivot members 72are mounted to turn in bearings on the longitudinal centre line of thetruck. The tubes 72 are secured to a box framework comprising spacedrectangular plates 73 extending transversely of the vehicle. Between theplates there are pivoted at 74 two axle bars 75 extending outwardly tosupport the wheel mountings. The latter consist of stub axle bracketspivoted for steering movements in orthodox manner on king pins at theouter ends of the axle bars 75. For the driving wheels the stub axlebrackets have upward extensions 76 to support the motors 7b which drivethe related wheels 21 through reduction gear boxes 77, chains 78 andsprockets 79 and 8d, the last mentioned sprockets being secured to thewheels 21.

The heightwise settings of the outer ends of the axle bars 75 inrelation to the supporting plates 73 are determined by upper levers 8ipivoted at SZbetween the plates '73 and coupled by links 83 to the axlebars 75. The levers 81 have at their inner ends slots 34 in which pins85 in across head 85 engage. Attached to the cross head 36 is anextension fram 87 having a cross piece dd coupled to the piston rod 89of a hydraulic ram 9b the cylinder of which is contained between theplates 73 and also forms a bearing for the cross head 86. The ram 9% isfixed at its lower end to the tube 72 by means of a mounting indicatedat 91. Rams 9t) and leverages S1, 83 provided at the two ends of thetruck are operated in unison to effect heightwise adjustment of thebottom of the truck in relation to the ground. l When the piston rods 59of the rams 9d are extended to raise the cross head as in FIG. 5, thetwo axle bars 75 are lowered to increase the ground clearance of thetruck body. Collapse of the rams 9t on release of the hydraulic fluidfrom them to a greater or less extent occurs under the weight of thebody of the truck and causes the axle bars 75 to rock upwardly therebyreducing the ground clearance of the bottom of the truck to any extentrequired.

By the form of construction just described it will be seen that at eachend of the vehicle the two wheels 21 form part of an assembly which iscentrally pivoted to rock bodily about a longitudinal axis so that ifone wheel is raised in relation to the truck body the opposite wheel islowered correspondingly. For the longitudinal interconnection of thewheels on each side the plates 73 are fitted with the pivot brackets 92at the top towards each end. To these pivot brackets are anchoredextremities of hell crank levers 93 (FIGS. 5 and 14) which are pivotedto brackets 94 secured to the plates 22 and 23. The levers 93 havedepending arms 5, connected to the forked ends 8 6 of links which extendalong the truck and are coupled at their other ends to depending arms 95of the corresponding bell crank levers 93 at the other end of the truck.Thus when one wheel 21 is lowered the corresponding wheel on the sameside of the truck is raised in relation to the truck body due to theopera tion of the bell crank levers 93 and the longitudinal links.

The steering connections for the wheels can be seen i in FIG. 4 thecontrol being my means of hand operated levers 97 and 98 in the driverscabin 19. These levers are preferably positioned fore and aft of thecabin 19 so that the lever 97 can be used for two-wheel steering whentravelling in the direction towards the right as seen in FIG. 4 and thelever 98 similarly used for two-Wheel steering when travelling in theopposite direction. Thus lever )7 controls the steering for the wheels21 appearing at the far end of the truck towards the right of FIG. 4,while lever 98 controls steering of the wheels at the opposite end. Thecabin 1? also contains a control box indicated at 99 housing controlgear by which the propulsion of the truck and the operation of the loadhandling mechanism is controlled. Each of the levers 97 and 98 has anintermediate pivot indicated at 1% and operates two Bowden wires T01 andM2. The sheaths H93, 104 of these are anchored near the levers 97 and 93and extend through an opening ltlS in the plate 16 of the carriage andback through a lower opening 106 in the plate. It is necessary toarticulate the Bowden cables to allow for the lateral travel of thedrivers cabin with the carriage 13, and to this end the Bowden cablesare brought together and after passing through a transverse slot Hi7formed in the plate 22, are carried along an articulated mountingconsisting of levers Hi8 and 169 pivoted to one another at Silt? andhaving their free ends pivoted respectively at ill to a bracket 112 onplate 16 and at 113 to a bracket 11 i fixed under the platform 11.

The cables 183, M4, extending from the lever 97 pass from the bracket114 to one side and then inwardly along the interior of the platform Tiand the ends of their sheaths are anchored to opposite arms of a lever115 pivoted at 116 to the plate 22. The wires 191, 102 of these Bowdencables are similarly connected to a lever T17, pivotedto the plate 22 ata point 118 between the connections of the wires. The lever 115 operatesa hydraulic control valve 119 while the lever 117 is coupled by a link1269 to a further lever 121 on a spindle 122 which extends along thevehicle and is connected at its other end to an upstanding lever 123coupled by a link 124 to a steering arm 125 of one of the motor andwheel assemblies. The steering arm 125 is in turn connected by a crosslink 126 to a similar steering arm 127 on the opposite wheel assembly. Adouble acting hydraulic arm 128 attached by a bracket 129 to the plate23 on the face thereof remote from the centre of the truck has itspiston rod 139 coupled to the steering arm 127. The ram 123 has pipes131, 132 for supply of hydraulic fluid to operate it in oppositedirections, the supply of such fluid being controlled by the valve 119aforesaid operated by the lever 115. Thus when handle 97 is moved toturn the related wheels for steering the reaction resisting turningmovement acting on lever 117 will set up a force on the sheaths of theBowden cables causing lever 115 to be rocked to operate the controlvalve 119 and energize the ram 128 to effect the required steeringmovement until the forces on the levers 117, 115 are again inequilibrium.

Similarly the steering of the wheels 21 at the opposite end of the truckby means of the lever 98 is eifected through the Bowden cables 103, 194associated therewith which extend from the bracket 114 and have theirsheaths coupled to a lever 133 on opposite sides of the fixed pivot 134thereof. Also the wires 101 and 102 of the cables are similary connectedto a lever 135 on 0;- posite sides of the fixed pivot 136 thereof. Thelever 133 like the lever 115' is coupled by a link rod 137 to ahydraulic control valve 133 which controls the flow of operating fiuidthrough pipes 139, 1 .4%? to a double acting hydraulic ram 141 anchoredat 142 to the truck frame. The lever 135 is coupled by a link rod 143 tothe free end of a lever 14 tpivoted to the truck frame at 145. The lever14a is also coupled to the piston rod 146 of the ram Ml and carries abracket 147 the ends of which are coupled respectivelyby track rodsldand 149 to steering arms of the wheel assemblies at the adjiacent end ofthe truck one such arm being indicated at 150. The

-another load.

7 steering action of the parts operated by hand lever 98 is preciselysimilar to that of the parts operated by hand lever 97, the reaction tothe force acting lever 135 causing the lever 133 to be rocked to operatethe hydraulic ram 141 to effect the required steering movement of thewheels at the appropriate end of the truck. The articulation of thelevers 108 and 199 and their mountings are so designed that lateraltravel of the cabin 19 with the carriage 13 has no efiect on thesteering of the wheels.

It Will be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 that a central low front and rear oneach side of the truck, and the steering rod 122 as well as electricaland hydraulic connections extending between the ends of the truck, suchparts being contained within the depth of the plates 12 so as to avoidinterference with the travel of the carriage 13 or with the groundclearance.

It is often desirable when handling loads in gangways to have facilityfor picking up and temporarily parking one load whilst the load handlingmeans are freed for handling another load. For instance, in the case ofpalleted goods when the pallets are stacked one on another in a storageline it may be desired to remove one or more upper pallets to enable alower pallet to be transported separately to another place. For theperformance of such an operation the truck may have an endwise movableplatform section on which a load picked up from one side of the truckcan be deposited by the forks 15 after they have been slewed round to aposition over the platform remote from the drivers cabin. endwisemovable platform section enables the load to be released from the forks15 by movement with the platform section away fromthem, so that theforks can then be turned one way or the other and moved away to dealwith A form of construction suitable for this purpose is illustrated inFIGS. 7 to wherein the platform corresponding to that indicated at 10 inthe earlier figures is composed of fixed side portions 151 and an endwise movable central portion or deck 152.

Along the parallel inside edges of the platform sections 151 there arechannel guide members 155 to receive rollers 154 projecting laterallyfrom an intermediate frame composed of side members 155 and crossmembers 156 the members 155 being of channel section to form guides forrollers 157 projecting laterally from the movable platform deck 152. Tooperate the movable deck 152 in end of the piston rod 160 is anchored tothe outer cross member 156 of the intermediate frame 155, 156 so that asthe ram 158 is extended. the intermediate frame is The provision of thebe further improved as shown in FIG. 15 by the addition of supportingwheels carried by a downward extension from the outer end of the movabledeck 152 to assist in supporting loads carried by the deck 152 whenextended. Such further supporting wheels may be mounted in casterfashion on the said downward extension and normally supported slightlyabove the ground and be adapted to move against it when a load isapplied. Thus the guide rails 153 may be mounted on compression springsso as to occupy a slightly raised setting when the deck 152 is free ofload so that the additional supporting wheels are then held clear of theground as in FIG. 15. When a load is applied to the deck the springswill yield until the additional supporting wheels make contact with theground. If desired an assembly consisting of a main framework withunderneath spring mountings and a longitudinally travelling deckcorresponding to that shown at 152 mounted on such framework and havinga downward extension provided with additional supporting wheels asaforesaid may be provided as a separate unit for attachment to a truckas shown in FIG. 1. Such arrangement may but need not incorporate anintermediate frame such as 155, 156 and operating mechanism forconnection to appropriate control means on the truck. The provision ofthe additional supporting wheels may adapt the deck 152 to support astack of loads of total weight greater than the capacity of the loadhandling means.

In a further modification the load engaging means constituted by theforks, instead of being pivoted about a vertical axis, is adapted toswing about a horizontal axis for presentation towards opposite sides ofthe truck. Such a modified construction is illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 13wherein a pair of forks 170 of special form are used providing in effecttwo sets of forks approximately at right angles to each other as viewedin side elevation, each fork having arms 171 connected by an arcuateportion 172 at the junction of the arms. The forks 179 are mounted on amast similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but fixed to the carriage 13and having its general plane extending lengthwise of the truck, thedrivers cabin being also supported by the carriage in alignment with thelast lengthwise ofv the truck. The forks 170 are mounted on outwardlyprojecting portions of a boxlike frame comprising upper and lowertransverse members 173 and side pieces 174, which embrace the parts ofthe mast indicated in FIG. 11 at 175 and 176. From the side pieces 174of the fork frame there extend upper, lower and intermediate projections1'77, 1'78 and 175 the spaces between which are closed by side pieces181). Each fork 170 has its arcuate portion 172 fitted between theprojection 178 and 179 at the appropriate side of the frame 173, 174 sothat in one position shown in full lines in FIG. 12 one fork arm pushedoutwardly and at the same time the movable deck 152 is moved outwardlyalong the intermediate frame.

To retract the movable deck 152 the transverse ram 159 I is energised toextend it and move a pulley 155 on its pis- 171 is horizontal andprojects from one face of the mast to the right in FIG. 12. The forkscan be swung over about the bottom projections 1'73 to the alternativeposition shown in dotted lines in FIG. 12 in which they project from theopposite face of the mast, that is to the left in FIG. 12. In each ofthese position the fork arms 171 which are upstanding rest against theprojections 177 toarrest turning movement of the forks and resistdownward thrust on the horizontal fork arms.

The modification of FIGS. 11 to 13 can be applied to the truck to givesimilar side loading facilities to those afforded by the firstconstruction except that, since the forks are not slewed round about avertical axis, transfer of a load from one side to the other of thetruck or to de posit it across the end platform of the truck, which thefirst construction permits, cannot be performed with this modification.

The truck constructions in accordance with the invention provide forgreatly improved load handling facilities and with the alternativesteering procedures possible and adjustment of the level of the truck itis made eminently suitable to deal efficiently with all kinds of loadingand unloading problems, many of which could not be dealt 9 withsatisfactorily without the present improved load handling facilities.

What we claim is:

l. A load handling truck comprising in combination, pairs of front andrear wheels, front and rear load supporting platforms, means bracingsaid platforms together at low level across their width and presenting atransverse recess between them, a travelling mast, means supporting saidmast for movement transversely of the truck bettween said platforms,load handling means mounted for raising and lowering movement on themast, and means for selectively projecting said load handling meanslaterally from either side of the truck between said front and rearplatforms for picking up or depositing a load, said load handling meanscomprising a lifting fork mounted so as to be projected laterally fromthe truck at either side and withdrawn to within the contour of thetruck, so that loads may be handled and lowered to rest on the front andrear platforms, said pairs of front and rear wheels having mountingspermitting heightwise adjustment of the truck frame to bring the bottomof the truck closer to or further from the ground between the wheelssupporting the ends of the truck.

2. A load handling truck according to claim 1, wherein said heightwiseadjustment is simultaneous with respect to each pair of wheels.

3. A load handling truck according to claim 1, wherein said lifting forkhas two sets of load engaging arms positioned at right angles to eachother in side elevation and mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis.

4. A load handling truck comprising in combination, front and rear framemembers, front and rear load supporting platforms on said frame members,means bracing said platforms together at low level across their widthand presenting a transverse recess between them, a travelling 5 1t) andrear platforms for picking up or depositing a load, said load handlingmeans comprising a lifting fork mounted so as to be projected laterallyfrom the truck at either side and withdrawn to within the contour of thetruck, so that loads may be handled and lowered to rest on said frontand rear platforms, and said control cabin having control means thereinto control the movement of said carriage, said load handling means andsaid truck.

5. A load handling truck according to claim 4, wherein said mast ismounted for movement about a. vertical axis for at least 180 to presentthe fork means at opposite sides of the truck.

6. A load handling truck according to claim 4, wherein the control meansincludes a plurality of control means for controlling the steering andpropelling of the truck.

7. A load handling truck according to claim 6, wherein the means forcontrolling the steering comprises separate and independent controlmeans for the front and rear wheels respectively.

8. A load handling truck according to claim 6, wherein there is aseparate driving motor for each Wheel mounted on said frame adjacenteach wheel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 846,837 3/07Evans 214-658 2,572,029 10/51 Huston 212-38 2,621,811 12/52 Lull 214-2,823,813 2/58 Shimmon 214-75 2,869,744 1/59 Kagel 214-672 2,989,2026/61 DeCanniere et a1. 214-672 3,092,268 6/63 Powers 214-730 FOREIGNPATENTS 952,428 11/56 Germany. 1,063,968 8/59 Germany.

820,782 9/59 Great Britain.

1,08 6,627 8/60 Germany.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Primary Examiner. MORRIS TEMIN, Examiner.

4. A LOAD HANDLING TRUCK COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, FRONT AND REAR FRAMEMEMBERS, FRONT AND REAR LOAD SUPPORTING PLATFORMS ON SAID FRAME MEMBERS,MEANS BRACING SAID PLATFORMS TOGETHER AT LOWER LEVEL ACROSS THEIR WIDTHAND PRESENTING A TRANSVERSE RECESS BETWEEN THEM, A TRAVELLING MAST ANDCONTROL CABIN, CARRIAGE MEANS SUPPORTING SAID MAST AND CONTROL CABIN FORSIMULTANEOUS MOVEMENT SAID CARRIAGE MEANS BEING MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OFTHE TRUCK BETWEEN SAID PLATFORMS, LOAD HANDLING MEANS MOUNTED FORRAISING AND LOWERING MOVEMENT ON SAID MAST, AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELYPROJECTING SAID LOAD HANDLING MEANS LATERALLY FROM EITHER SIDE OF THETRUCK BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR PLATFORMS FOR PICKING UP OR DEPOSITINGA LOAD, SAID LOAD HANDLING MEANS COMPRISING A LIFTING FORK MOUNTED SO ASTO BE PROJECTED LATERALLY FROM THE TRUCK AT EITHER SIDE AND WITHDRAW TOWITHIN THE COUNTOUR OF THE TRUCK, SO THAT LOADS MAY BE HANDLED ANDLOWERED TO REST ON SAID FONT AND REAR PLATFORMS, AND SAID CONTROL CABINHAVING CONTROL MEANS THEREIN TO CONTROL THE MOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIAGE,SAID LOAD HANDLING MEANS AND SAID TRUCK.